Lee Kun-Hee

Lee Kun Hee is the chairman of the Samsung Group, the largest information technology company in the world. The third son of Samsung founder, Lee Byung-Chul, Lee Kun Hee is generally cited as the driving force behind the reinvention of the Samsung brand as a high-end, high-quality electronics manufacturer. He had resigned in April 2008, owing to a Samsung slush funds scandal, but returned on March 24, 2010. He has risen to his place on the List of Billionaires through his Samsung success to become the richest man in South Korea.

Lee is often quoted on the subject of successful business practices, during the restructuring of Samsung in the 1990s, he once famously said, “Change everything except for your wife and kids.”

He is generally felt to be responsible for Samsung’s international popularity. The company itself is often cited as a driving force behind the sudden rise of South Korea’s economy, known as “The Miracle on the Han River.” Through the Samsung Group’s numerous divisions, including shipbuilding, engineering, construction and even insurance and theme parks, Samsung’s annual revenue is equal to almost 20 percent of the total gross domestic product of South Korea.